Until recently, imparting radiopacity to medical devices and polymeric materials therefor was limited to incorporating sufficient amounts of radiopaque, insoluble inorganic microparticles of heavy metal salts or oxides, as in the case of the use of barium sulfate in polymethyl methacrylate bone cement (Damian & Shalaby, U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,922) and several types of non-absorbable, non-crystalline polymeric materials such as those based on silicones and polyurethanes. In recent years, the concept of producing inorganic-organic hybrid fibers comprising insoluble radiopaque, inorganic microparticles and crystalline polymeric components was used by one of the present inventors and coworkers to produce medical devices in order to (1) impart radiopacity in melt-spun monofilaments (U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,489 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/880/993); (2) impart radiopacity in electrostatically spun microfibers (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/599,695); and (3) not only impart radiopacity but also contribute to a timely disintegration/absorption of a load-bearing component in an absorbable/disintegratable ureteral stent (PCT Application Serial No. 06/03619 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/346,117). Meanwhile, there has been some interest in preparing iodine-bearing, non-crystalline materials, including absorbable polymers. Most relevant to the instant invention are those which entailed the preparation of polymers with the iodine atom attached to an aromatic side group in the polymer chains (U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,477). To date, the lack of interest in developing or even exploring iodine-containing crystalline, aliphatic polymers of commercial interest in the medical industry is not surprising. This is because of the perceived limitations associated with the conditions used in preparing those polymers or iodide-containing radiopaque polymer blends, which can compromise the stability of the iodine-bearing additive or intermediates. This, and the lack of crystalline absorbable polymers useful for use in preparing radiopaque medical devices and coatings as well as radiographic markers by virtue of having sufficient amounts of iodine-containing species therein, provided an incentive to pursue the study, subject of the instant invention. Accordingly, this invention is directed to (1) the preparation of new, 80-100% aliphatic, absorbable, crystalline iodinated polymers for use as coatings and radiographic markers for medical devices; (2) the preparation of melt-extrudable hybrid composites into microfilament, monofilament, and multifilament yarns of water-soluble inorganic iodide salt and absorbable copolyester; (3) devices made of the above-noted radiopaque monofilament and multifilament yarns and radiopaque coatings; and (4) devices analogous to the above-noted ones comprising a radioactive iodine isotope (e.g., iodine-131 or 123) for use as pharmacokinetic markers and in radiation therapy.